In an exclusive conversation with Dr. Julia Grosse, founder of Coaching & Consulting, we delve into a personal journey that reshaped her approach to leadership. Discover how a frigid camping trip in the Arctic became an unintended catalyst for Dr. Grosse’s understanding of how the natural cycles of energy impact decision-making and team dynamics. Her insights shine a light on the often-overlooked influence of personal cycles on professional commitments—and offer a transformative perspective on integrating self-awareness into leadership strategies.
Interviewee Name: Dr. Julia Grosse
Company: Dr. Julia Grosse – Coaching & Consulting
The Interview
What inspired you to start your journey in this field, and how did it all begin?
Dr. Julia Grosse : I never set out to become the founder of a productivity revolution for women. I was a marine biologist, spending months in Arctic darkness, managing teams and surviving -38°C temperatures. It was there—testing emergency equipment for an overnight expedition in pitch black winter—that the real insight hit: I wasn’t underperforming… I was out of sync.
I started tracking, experimenting, aligning. The results were undeniable: more energy, less burnout, better leadership. That insight led me to create The Cyclical CEO—a movement empowering women to scale businesses in alignment with their hormonal rhythm, not despite it.
Can you share a failure that significantly impacted your perspective as a leader?
Dr. Julia Grosse : In my high-energy follicular phase, I enthusiastically signed up for an overnight camping trip. -30°C. No sunlight. Emergency gear packed. I was ready to conquer the Arctic. But when the date came, I was deep in my luteal phase—and my entire body screamed NO.
I bailed. I felt like a flake. I thought I’d failed my team, the opportunity, and myself.
But here’s what I learned: the real failure was making a big decision without respecting my cycle. That one misstep revealed a pattern I now see in nearly every high-performing woman—setting up meetings, launches, or bold moves in one phase and then ghosting them in another.
We talk a lot about canceled plans. But what we rarely acknowledge are the plans we never make—because we’re in a low-energy phase and can’t even imagine our high-energy self showing up powerfully. That realization hit me like an Arctic storm—and changed how I lead forever.
What was the most important lesson you learned from that experience?
Dr. Julia Grosse : Biological timing matters. Your energy is not a constant—it’s a rhythm. I learned to sync my launches, meetings, and visibility to that rhythm. No more pushing through phases that were never meant for performance.
And once I did that? Burnout dropped, output increased, and I finally understood what sustainable leadership felt like.
Leadership isn’t just about clarity. It’s about timing.
How do you approach taking risks now compared to earlier in your career?
Dr. Julia Grosse : Back then, risk was a sprint: decide fast, act faster, crash later.
Now? I move with precision. I know which phases are designed for bold action and which are made for recalibration. I don’t take high-stakes risks in my luteal or menstrual phase anymore—and I coach other women to do the same.
When your body says “pause,” it’s not sabotage—it’s strategic intelligence.
How do you foster a culture where failure is embraced as a growth opportunity?
Dr. Julia Grosse : By naming the rhythm. In my programs, we normalize dips. We map decisions to biology. We stop treating fatigue as a flaw and instead see it as feedback. We normalize rest, de-shame the dip, and treat every crash as a checkpoint—not a dead end. I teach my clients that failure isn’t falling short—it’s repeating the same misaligned cycle without reflection.
Otherwise? It’s fuel. It’s wisdom. It’s rhythm recalibration. When you understand your cyclical nature, you stop asking “What’s wrong with me?” and start asking, “What phase am I in—and what’s it trying to tell me?” That’s not just self-awareness. That’s leadership in sync.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone struggling with setbacks in their career?
Dr. Julia Grosse : You don’t need to force your next step—you need to feel it.
Sync with your body. Your setbacks may just be signals of misalignment, not lack of potential.
You’re not flaky. You’re not failing. You’re cyclical—and that’s your power, not your problem. And once you align with that truth, your next rise becomes inevitable.
Leaders Perception magazine would like to thank Dr. Julia Grosse and “Dr. Julia Grosse – Coaching & Consulting” for the time dedicated to completing this interview and sharing their valuable insights with our readers!
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